Fantasy: Week 5 positional rankings

Reid, Mike, and Blayne are joined by Tim Shaw from SoccerCaptains.com to talk about all the MLS Fantasy action that was packed into the few games in Round 4. Blayne drops a big announcement about a discount opportunity from our sponsor, Beard Care Club, and then they get into the recap including Tim answering a popular question. What happened to the Red Bulls?! Mike touches on the lasting impacts of the international break before moving onto the Round 5 preview.

Week 5 of MLS Fantasy is upon us, with multiple key players set to return from international duty, suspensions and injuries. Be sure to monitor player statuses throughout the week as they return to their respective squads, and don’t forget that the first game of Week 5 (Toronto FC vs. NYCFC) kicks off on Friday! With that in mind, let’s dive right into the top fantasy players at each position this week.

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Goalkeepers

Fantasy: Week 5 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Tim%20Melia.jpg

Melia is the top-ranked goalkeeper for Week 5 | USA Today Images

Tim Melia jumps off the page as the top goalkeeper on a slate that features multiple road favorites. He’s back at Children’s Mercy Park, where he kept a clean sheet in his last outing and is facing a Montreal attack on Saturday that could be without Ignacio Piatti (3 pm ET | TVAS, TSN5, CTV — Full TV & streaming info).

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Tim Melia	SKC	vs. MTL	$7.0
2	Spencer Richey	CIN	vs. PHI	$5.8
3	Joe Bendik	CLB	vs. ATL	$4.4
4	Bill Hamid	DC	at ORL	$7.4
5	Nick Rimando	RSL	vs. DAL	$5.9
6	Brian Rowe	ORL	vs. DC	$5.2
7	David Bingham	LA	vs. POR	$5.2
8	Stefan Frei	SEA	at VAN	$7.0
9	Luis Robles	RBNY	at CHI	$5.6
10	Tyler Miller	LAFC	at SJ	$5.5

Defenders

Fantasy: Week 5 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Graham%20Zusi%20on%20the%20ball%20-%20Kei%20Kamara%20tackle%20-%20Colorado%20Rapids%20vs%20Sporting%20KC.jpg

Zusi (right) is another Sporting player atop the position rankings. | USA Today Images

Graham Zusi has yet to make his mark on the scoresheet, but he’s knocking at the door with five shots, eight crosses and two chances created through his first two games. With a strong possibility of a clean sheet against Montreal, Zusi is set up for a big fantasy haul if he’s able to break through on the attacking end, too.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Graham Zusi	SKC	vs. MTL	$7.6
2	Harrison Afful	CLB	vs. ATL	$8.1
3	Gaston Sauro	CLB	vs. ATL	$6.5
4	Matt Besler	SKC	vs. MTL	$7.9
5	Kendall Waston	CIN	vs. PHI	$6.2
6	Walker Zimmerman	LAFC	at SJ	$7.8
7	Greg Garza	CIN	vs. PHI	$5.5
8	Mathieu Deplagne	CIN	vs. PHI	$6.3
9	Andreu Fontas	SKC	vs. MTL	$5.5
10	Brad Smith	SEA	at VAN	$6.3
11	Frederic Brillant	DC	at ORL	$7.0
12	Kelvin Leerdam	SEA	at VAN	$6.5
13	Rolf Feltscher	LA	vs. POR	$5.2
14	Nick DeLeon	TOR	vs. NYC	$6.0
15	Justin Morrow	TOR	vs. NYC	$6.7
16	Francisco Calvo	MIN	at NE	$7.5
17	Michael Murillo	RBNY	at CHI	$7.7
18	Leonardo Jara	DC	at ORL	$7.5
19	Seth Sinovic	SKC	vs. MTL	$6.3
20	Edgar Castillo	NE	vs. MIN	$5.3

Midfielders

Nicolas Lodeiro already has two goals, three assists and 29 fantasy points over his first three games, and there’s no reason to think he slows down in Saturday’s Cascadia rivalry against a Vancouver defense that has conceded seven goals in their first three games (10 pm ET | TSN1 — Full TV & streaming info).

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Nicolas Lodeiro	SEA	at VAN	$12.3
2	Romain Alessandrini	LA	vs. POR	$10.1
3	Kenny Saief	CIN	vs. PHI	$8.1
4	Luciano Acosta	DC	at ORL	$11.4
5	Carles Gil	NE	vs. MIN	$9.9
6	Alejandro Pozuelo	TOR	vs. NYC	$10.0
7	Diego Valeri	POR	vs. LA	$11.6
8	Johnny Russell	SKC	vs. MTL	$9.3
9	Marco Fabian	PHI	at CIN	$9.0
10	Albert Rusnak	RSL	vs. DAL	$11.2
11	Federico Higuain	CLB	vs. ATL	$9.0
12	Maxi Moralez	NYC	at TOR	$10.2
13	Nani	ORL	vs. DC	$8.8
14	Victor Rodriguez	SEA	at VAN	$9.5
15	Inbeom Hwang	VAN	vs. SEA	$8.7
16	Felipe Gutierrez	SKC	vs. MTL	$8.1
17	Jonathan dos Santos	LA	vs. POR	$9.1
18	Michael Bradley	TOR	vs. NYC	$10.0
19	Przemyslaw Frankowski	CHI	vs. RBNY	$8.3
20	Damir Kreilach	RSL	vs. DAL	$7.8
21	Ilie Sanchez	SKC	vs. MTL	$9.1
22	Junior Moreno	DC	at ORL	$7.5
23	Daniel Royer	RBNY	at CHI	$8.3
24	Sebastian Blanco	POR	at LA	$10.3
25	Yordy Reyna	VAN	vs. SEA	$8.5
26	Roland Lamah	CIN	vs. PHI	$7.5
27	Jefferson Savarino	RSL	vs. DAL	$8.2
28	Julian Gressel	ATL	at CLB	$8.9
29	Saphir Taider	MTL	at SKC	$11.7
30	Sebastian Lletget	LA	vs. POR	$6.9

Forwards

Fantasy: Week 5 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Vela-2.jpg

Vela remains the top option for forwards. | USA Today Images

Carlos Vela failed to hit the scoresheet in Week 4, but he still managed seven points thanks to multiple attacking bonus points. Facing a leaky San Jose defense on Saturday (3:30 pm ET | Univision, Twitter — Full TV & streaming info) that’s been breached for nine goals in three games, he’s back at the top of this week’s forward rankings.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Carlos Vela	LAFC	at SJ	$12.3
2	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	LA	vs. POR	$11.2
3	Darwin Quintero	MIN	at NE	$12.5
4	Wayne Rooney	DC	at ORL	$11.0
5	Raul Ruidiaz	SEA	at VAN	$11.2
6	Alexandru Mitrita	NYC	at TOR	$10.2
7	Krisztian Nemeth	SKC	vs. MTL	$6.7
8	Josef Martinez	ATL	at CLB	$10.1
9	Jozy Altidore	TOR	vs. NYC	$9.6
10	Alberth Elis	HOU	at COL	$9.2
11	Diego Rossi	LAFC	at SJ	$9.0
12	Gyasi Zardes	CLB	vs. ATL	$9.8
13	Jordan Morris	SEA	at VAN	$9.3
14	Bradley Wright-Phillips	RBNY	at CHI	$10.3
15	Fredy Montero	VAN	vs. SEA	$8.7
16	Cristian Penilla	NE	vs. MIN	$8.0
17	Kekuta Manneh	CIN	vs. PHI	$6.4
18	Mauro Manotas	HOU	at COL	$10.1
19	Kei Kamara	COL	vs. HOU	$8,8
20	Cristian Espinoza	SJ	vs. LAFC	$8.8